Baseball Announces Captains for 2013 Season

Jordan Keur, John Martinez and Andrew Waszak named captains for upcoming season.

Jordan Keur led the Spartans with a .353 batting average in 2012 and was a first-team All-Big Ten selection.

Oct. 24, 2012

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State head baseball coach Jake Boss has announced that Jordan Keur, John Martinez and Andrew Waszak have been elected by their teammates to serve as captains for the 2013 season. Keur, Martinez and Waszak are all seniors and have helped lead the Spartans to the Big Ten regular-season championship in 2011 and a berth in the NCAA Regionals in 2012.

"Our three captains were selected by their peers, and I couldn't be more pleased with the young men they chose to lead this ballclub," said Boss. "Jordan Keur, John Martinez, and Andrew Waszak are three of the best leaders I have had the pleasure of coaching in my career and I'm confident in their ability to take ownership of the 2013 team. All three of them own a Big Ten Championship ring, all three of them have participated in the NCAA Tournament, and all three of them are ready to take this team to new heights as the level of expectations here have been raised. Not only are they great leaders, but they are also quality young men who have represented our program in a way that we can all be proud of, both on and off the field."

Keur, who started in all 60 games (49 in left field, 11 in center field) in 2012, was the team's batting champion with a .353 batting average - an improvement of .93 from 2011 (.260) - and was MSU's lone first-team All-Big Ten selection. His average was also the eighth best in the Big Ten. Keur shared the John Kobs Most Valuable Player Award and was also named the Steve Garvey Most Improved Player.

Keur finished the season with 89 hits, second in the Big Ten only to Jones; that total also ranks fourth most in an MSU single-season. In addition, Keur was listed among the conference leaders in at-bats (second with 252), on-base percentage (fifth at .432), runs (tied for eighth with 47) and doubles (tied for 10th with 14).

A native of Hudsonville, Mich., Keur led the team with 31 multi-hit games and batted .351 with runners in scoring position. He posted a career-high 15-game hitting streak and during one stretch, reached base safely in 18 straight games.
A three-year letterwinner who has played in 149 games, including 125 starts, Keur owns a .311 career batting average with 24 doubles, three homers and 58 RBIs, and has a .383 career on-base percentage.

John Martinez started 48 games last season and hit a career-high .306.

Martinez had a breakthrough season as a junior in 2012, starting a career-high 48 games while posting career bests in batting average (.306), hits (57), runs (24) doubles (8), home runs (3) and RBIs (32). Martinez ranked second on the team with a .343 batting average in Big Ten play and tied for the team lead with 18 two-out RBIs.

The Auburn Hills, Mich., native was the primary catcher during the first half of the season and also started games at left field, right field and first base. This past summer, Martinez played in the prestigious Cape Cod League for the Chatham Anglers.

Martinez is a three-year letterwinner and has played in 80 games, including 64 starts, and owns a .298 career batting average.

Waszak was the No. 2 starter in the rotation last season and will return to the weekend rotation this upcoming season. He compiled a 4-4 record as a junior with a 2.96 ERA and tied for first in the Big Ten with 16 starts. He also ranked among the Big Ten leaders in innings pitched (second with 106.1), opposing batting average (tied for sixth with .238) and ERA (eighth at 2.96). His career-high 106 1/3 innings pitched were second most in school history.

Andrew Waszak ranked second in the Big Ten last season with 106 1/3 innings pitched.

Wasak posted nine quality starts (at least six innings pitched; three earned runs or less) and was named Big Ten Pitcher of the Week after throwing seven shutout innings at Indiana on April 15; he scattered three hits and walked one while striking out five Hoosiers.

The Rochester Hills, Mich., native owns a 12-8 career record with 4.45 ERA and has started 37 career games.

Michigan State begins the 2013 season with three games in Greenville, S.C., at Fluor Field on Feb. 15-17 against Miami- Ohio (Feb. 15), Furman (Feb. 16) and Northwestern (Feb. 17).